Aye-aye pictures and facts

The Aye aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) is the world's largest nocturnal primate. It lives in the east coast forests of Madagascar, tapping the trees for grubs (beetle larvae), then gnawling a hole to stick its elongated (sometimes three times longer than the other fingers) middle finger in it to catch the grub. They grow up to 37 cms long, with a tail of 53 cms and can weigh about 2,5 kilograms. Not only is the Aye aye threatened by habitat destruction, it also is very much threatened by superstition of the local villagers. Native people believe it is a harbinger of death, and when it points its middle finger at you, you are doomed. Therefore it is killed on sight.

photo taken by Ancheta Wis, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0